


When Your Soul Embarks

by space_angel



Series: Into the Dark [3]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-17
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-29 17:10:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1007950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/space_angel/pseuds/space_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heaven is once again put back to rights after the return of the archangel Gabriel. However, when unexpected visitors crash into the Earth, and long, lost relatives turn up once again, bringing with them a slew of aggressive aliens, the Winchesters could be in a bit of a pinch. But with an archangel waiting in the wings, the Winchesters should be able to overcome anything, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Relax, It's Tuesday

Castiel sighed contentedly, his head resting on Dean’s chest as they lay in bed, “It is sad. Two years have passed since Gabriel left.”

“Really? We just had mind blowing sex and you’re thinking about Gabriel?” Dean said.

“No, I was thinking of how lonely Sam is,” Cas said, “He was especially forlorn today.”

“You were thinking about my brother during sex?” Dean asked.

Cas pinched Dean’s side, making him jump, “No, I was thinking about your brother post-coital. He has been abstinent for two years now.”

“Yeah, well, if you ask me, Gabriel isn’t worth it.”

“You would not wait for me if I had to leave?”

“I didn’t say that. I’d wait for you, you’re so worth it,” Dean said, kissing him softly.

“It is the same for Sam.”

Dean was silent for a minute, “Do you think Gabriel will come back soon?”

Cas shrugged, “The angels have returned to Heaven, Metatron have been dealt with, everything seems to be in order. I am not sure why he has not returned already.”

 

Sam rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 12:01 Tuesday morning. With a sigh, he got up out of bed. He couldn’t sleep, his mind restless with thoughts of Gabriel. He thought about praying to him – he did almost every night – but he couldn’t think of anything to say tonight. Walking to the other side of the room, he stood in front of the shelves he’d made in between cases, then mounted on the wall. They held various items. There was a large crystal that shone in the light, a long-bladed knife that looked ancient, a moon rock, an extremely realistic flower carved from wood, a Stanford hoodie, a lone shoe, and various other items he’d received from Gabriel over the years.

He touched each one, working his way from one side to another, until he came to the end. The wooden box that had once held Gabriel’s feather sat at the end. It had been emptied when they’d used Gabriel’s feather to perform the spell that revived him, but now the lid was slid back, creating the smallest of gaps, through which Sam could see a soft, golden glow. His hands trembled as he picked it up and opened it. Inside lay a perfect, gold feather, almost as long as his forearm. His breath caught as he ran his fingers gently over the soft plume.

“Do you like it?” A voice asked from behind him.

Sam set the box down and turned to see Gabriel sitting casually on his bed, “I love it.”

Gabriel smiled, “Happy anniversary, kiddo.”

Crossing the room in two strides, Sam grabbed Gabriel and kissed him ferociously, not stopping because breathing wasn’t important right now. He’d been holding his breath for the past two years, what was another two minutes?

 

They were tangled together on the bed, running their hands over each other’s bare skin. Gabriel ran a hand through Sam’s hair and pulled gently, making Sam grunt and rub against him, despite being spent, “What took you so long?” Sam whispered.

Gabriel was silent for a minute, then said, “I’m sorry, Sammy. Heaven was a mess, and really, I wasn’t exactly the best candidate for the job.”

“But everything’s fixed now, right?”

“For the most part,” Gabriel said, “I’ll still have to check in every day, and I’m on call 24/7, but I should be home every night.”

“Home?” Sam said.

“Yeah, Sammy. Wherever you are, that’s my home,” Gabriel said.

 

The greeting between Dean and Gabriel the next morning was tense and awkward, which was to be expected, but Kevin and Castiel seemed genuinely happy to see Gabriel again. They sat eating breakfast, Sam sitting as close to Gabriel as humanly possible. Suddenly, there was a boom, like an explosion. They all jumped to their feet, rushing towards the bunker door.

Dean went first, gun in hand, peering cautiously out the crack in the door. Sam saw him tense, then he was moving cautiously outside, headed towards a large crater in the ground maybe 50 yards away. Smoke billowed up into the air, obstructing their view as they all followed. Finally, they came to the edge of the hole and saw what was some kind of mixture between a car and a plane, now a twisted pile of metal, at the center of it. As they watched on, something in the wreckage moved. The crushed, and bent in door was flung off, and someone crawled out.

The man stood, looking dazed and unbalanced. Sam froze, then jumped down into the crater, running towards him, yelling, “Jim!”


	2. Catch UP

“Jim, are you alright?” Sam asked, grabbing him by his shoulder.

The contact seemed to snap Jim out of his daze, and he turned back towards the wreckage, “Spock,” he croaked.

Dean had caught up to them by then, and he dove towards the wreckage, grabbing the sharp metal with his bare hands and pulling until he could fit inside. He pulled himself into the crash ship and disappeared for a minute, until Sam called, “Dean?”

“We’re coming out,” Dean said. Castiel and Gabriel had taken Jim and sat him down to one side and spoke quietly with him, but now Jim stood and came over to wait beside the door. Dean came out first, then he turned around and helped Spock crawl out. Spock was bleeding from his temple, but otherwise seemed unscathed. Jim wasn’t so lucky. His arm hung limp at his side, and he had numerous scrapes and bumps, blooding oozing out and staining his clothes.

“Spock, you’re bleeding. Are you okay?” Jim said.

“Your wounds are far more severe, Jim,” Spock said, “We should seek medical attention for you immediately.”

“On it,” Gabriel said. He reached over and placed a hand to Jim’s forehead, and the next moment his wounds were gone.

Jim gaped, “How did you…?”

“Gabriel’s an archangel,” Castiel said.

“Oh, okay,” Jim said.

“Did he just say ‘okay?’” Gabriel asked.

“Jim’s one of our future offspring,” Sam said, “We kind of used a blood spell we learned from our grandfather, Henry Winchester, who was a Man of Letters, to jump ahead in time once, and we met Jim. He’s the captain of a ship flying around in space in the year 2261. These demons followed us, so Jim and some of his crew kind of know about them, and about Cas being an angel.”

“Yeah, and pointy there is his boyfriend. He’s an alien,” Dean said.

“Vulcan, to be specific,” Sam said.

Gabriel paused, then said, “So you’re both in relationships with men right now, but you somehow manage to have offspring, meaning one of you is going to cheat at some point.”

“That’s really what you got from that?” Jim asked.

 

Back in the bunker, they all sat at the table while Kevin made coffee, and Sam asked, “How did you get here?”

Jim grabbed a napkin and handed it to Spock before saying, “We were being chased by these pissed off, radical Romulans who had survived the destruction of the Narada, and were intent on continuing Nero’s plan to destroy all Vulcans, and then every Federation planet.”

“What?” Dean said. Kevin served them coffee and sat down just as Jim began explaining everything about Nero and what had happened in the year 2259.

When he finished, Dean said, “Okay, but that still doesn’t explain how you got here.”

“As Jim was saying,” Spock said, “We were using the small craft we crashed in to survey the surface of a planet when we were ambushed by the Romulans in a much larger, and better equipped craft. We managed to leave the atmosphere, however, we did not wish to lead our pursuers back to the Enterprise, so we attempted to escape through a worm hole. When I suggested it, I had hoped it would send us to another part of space, where we would be able to use our early exit to make our escape before the Romulans figured out what had happened and followed us. However, clearly it has sent us much farther away than we anticipated, and through time as well.”

“When I realized we were close to Earth and what year it was,” Jim said, “I decided we should come here, since we were running low on the fuel. That ship isn’t meant for high speed space chases. I remembered you guys mentioning during your stay on the Enterprise that you had a bunker here. We entered the atmosphere above this place, but it used up the last of our fuel. I barely managed to miss hitting this place.”

“Well, we’re glad you did,” Sam said.

“What about the people that were chasing you? These Romulans?” Dean asked.

At that moment, there was a loud noise, like a roaring from outside. They all stood and ran to the door. When they opened it, there was a huge ship hovering just outside, facing them.


	3. The Attack

“Hit the deck!” Jim yelled. They all ducked out of the way just as the ship open fired.

Over the roar of the ship and the guns, Sam yelled, “What should we do?”

Dean wasn’t listening. He was knelt over Cas, who was holding his side where a huge portion of his body was now missing, blood gushing everywhere. The next moment, everything was silent. Then, there was a loud crash. Sam leaned over and looked out the door to see the ship sitting on the ground, completely dark.

“Here,” he turned to see Gabriel leaning over Cas. He touched his forehead, and Cas’s face relaxed, the pained look replaced by one of exhaustion and gratitude.

Taking him in his arms, Dean choked out a, “Thanks,” before burying his face in Cas’s neck, probably to hide his tears.

“What just happened?” Kevin asked.

“I shut them down,” Gabriel said.

“Oh.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like you stopped them altogether,” Jim said from where he was looking out the door. They joined him to see the Romulans exiting the ship with guns in hand, headed right towards them.

Gabriel shrugged, “No prob-” When he didn’t finish, Sam turned to look at him, only to find he was gone.

 

“Where did he go?” Jim asked.

Sam ignored him because he had no idea, and just said, “The guns are in the back,” and took off running. Over his shoulder, he yelled, “Kevin, help Dean get Cas into the other room. Jim, Spock, come on!”

The three of them burst into the armory, and Sam started grabbing guns and handing them to Jim and Spock. When they had enough, the three of them cautiously looked out into the other room. Dean was fighting against the three Romulans alone, and Sam looked just in time to see one deliver a vicious uppercut. Even from where he was across the room, Sam could hear a loud snap.

“Dean!” He yelled, running forward recklessly. Jim and Spock tried to grab him and hold him back, but he shrugged them off.

One of the Romulans pointed something that looked like a gun at Sam and said, “Stop!” but he kept coming. The Romulan yelled, “I said stop!” And when Sam still didn’t, he squeezed the trigger. There was a zing noise, and then Sam fell to the ground, hands coming up over the ragged, blackened hole in his chest.

 

When Sam woke up, the first thing he felt was a severe burning in his chest. He tried to open his eyes, but the light made his eyes hurt, and his head spin. From beside him, he heard Jim say, “Sam?”

“Jim, we need to come up with a plan before the Romulans have repaired their ship,” Spock said, “Once it is repaired, they say they are planning to kill everyone save the two of us. They will take us back to be made examples of.”

“Yeah, torture, public ridicule, execution, I got it Spock,” Jim snapped, “Sam!”

Sam forced himself to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. Kevin, Dean, and Cas were tied to the three chairs on the other side of the table, Cas and Dean unconscious, and Kevin, obviously having taken a beating himself, looked like he was on the verge of joining them. Beside him, Jim and Spock were bloody and worse for wear. Sam chuckled, “You all look like shit.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not doing so hot either,” Jim said with a smile.

“I do not see the humor in this situation,” Spock said.

Sam laughed again, “Me neither. So what’s the plan?”

Spock raised one eyebrow at him, “We were just beginning to formulate one now, seeing as Jim just woke up. I was the only one conscious until just moments ago.”

“And you haven’t come up with a plan yet?” Sam asked.

“Negative,” Spock said, “I am attempting to formulate one, however, it is difficult given the time difference. I am unaware of what parameters I have to work in.”

“Well, we’ve got guns, iron, salt, and holy water,” Sam said, “Two hunters, one fallen angel, one star ship captain, one alien, and one prophet of the Lord. Any ideas?”

Spock looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “None with a satisfactory survival rate.”

Jim sighed and let his head fall back, “Wonderful.”


	4. Open Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol... love that song guys. Love it.

“I thought you were supposed to be a genius or something,” Sam said.

“There are many variables to consider,” Spock said, “If I were to consider only the survival of Jim and myself, I have already considered many situations in which our survival rate was more than satisfactory.”

“You-!” Sam started, then reeled himself in, in part because he was being far too loud, and also because Spock might be their only chance to get out of here with his superior strength and intellect.

“Spock,” Jim said warningly.

“If you wish to survive, perhaps you should rely on your own resources, considering it is you who led to our being captured in the first place,” Spock continued.

“And here it was I thought you were supposed to be an emotionless dick, and it turns out you’re just a-” Sam started, then faltered when he was suddenly falling, barely catching himself on the table. His wrists had been untied, making him off balance. He turned to see Kevin kneeling behind Jim, undoing his restraints.

Kevin didn’t even look at him when he said, “Go help Dean and Cas.”

Moving around the table, Sam lightly shook Dean, “Hey, wake up.”

Dean’s eyebrows scrunched together, then he opened his eyes slowly, “Sammy?” Sam moved behind him and undid his restraints. Dean turned to Cas, gently taking his face and stroking his cheek, “Cas, honey, wake up.”

“I am awake, Dean,” Cas said, his eyes still closed. He’d obviously been beaten by the Romulans after Gabriel had healed him. There was blood running down his face, which was puffy and swollen, from a large gash on his head. Sam didn’t mention it, but he knew that Cas needed medical attention immediately.

“I need you to open your eyes,” Dean said, “I need you to look into mine.”

Cas opened his eyes slightly, and squeezed them tight again quickly, but they had seen that his pupils were blown open, and weren’t constricting, “I can’t, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Cas,” Dean said, “Cover your eyes.” He grabbed Cas’s now free hands and brought them up to his face, kissing each one before gently placing the open palm over his eyes. Wrapping an arm around his waist, Dean helped him stand, guiding him.

“So what do we do now?” Kevin asked as he, Spock, and Jim rubbed their wrists.

“Run,” Sam said. They all followed his gaze to see the Romulans standing in the doorway. One shouted something in a foreign language, and they all took off running.

 

The Romulans were faster than all of them but Spock, especially Cas and Dean, who were struggling to keep up since Cas couldn’t see and was being forced to keep his eyes covered. Sam looked back at them, and when he looked forward again, he noticed that Kevin, who had been running just ahead of him, was gone. His eyes searched wildly and he saw Kevin working at the panel that controlled the lights, “Kevin,” he yelled, “What are you doing.”

“I have an idea,” Kevin said, his hands moving quickly, working the wires and buttons, “Keep them busy.”

“Damnit,” Sam said to himself. He moved over to one side and stopped, letting Cas and Dean pass him.

Dean slowed, and yelled, “Sammy, what are you doing?”

“Keep going,” Sam said. When Dean hesitated, Sam said, “Go, get Cas somewhere safe.”

With a quick glance at Cas, Dean kept on running.

Once they were within distance, the Romulans launched themselves at Sam, two of them ganging up on him, and the other headed towards Kevin. Sam grabbed a chair and threw it at the one walking towards where Kevin was working, his attention completely focused on whatever he was doing. It didn’t seem to slow him, so Sam ducked around the other two and made his way for that one. He undid his belt and pulled it off, slipping it around his neck and pulling with all his strength. It worked for a moment. The Romulan stopped and brought his hands to his neck, pulling at the belt, but Sam held tight. The next moment though, there was an arm wrapped around Sam neck, squeezing tightly, and his hands let the belt go.

Sam started to see spots, and just when he thought he was about to pass out, the pressure from his neck was gone. The Romulans all fell to their knees, their hands covering their ears, and they screamed in pain. Sam looked around in confusion, hearing only silence.


	5. The Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy. :)
> 
> Also, the
> 
> -words words words words words
> 
> is the conversation between Jim and Spock through their bond.

“What’s happening?” Sam asked.

“Remember when you guys came back from the future,” Kevin said, “And you told me about how Spock had those pointy ears that were way better at hearing than human ears. Well, these guys had the same ones.”

“Wait, what about-” Sam started, but was interrupted.

From the direction the others had ran, they heard, “Spock!” It was Jim’s voice.

“I turned on a high frequency so that only they’d be able to hear it,” Kevin said, “Like with a dog whistle. It won’t kill them, but it should…” At that moment, one of the Romulans slumped over onto the floor. Within a minute, the others had done the same. Kevin turned off the sound that he’d been playing through the overhead speakers.

“They won’t be out long,” Sam said, “Help me move them into the dungeon so we can shackle them.” It took both him and Kevin to lift the heavier Romulan and get him into the back room. When they came back, Dean was standing over the other two.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Kevin took them out with a high frequency sound only they could hear,” Sam said.

“Yeah, and apparently Spock,” Dean said, “He’s passed out. I left Jim with him and Cas, and came to check on you two.”

“He should be fine. His hearing might just be shot for a while, but it’ll come back,” Kevin said.

“Good, let’s get the rest of these guys into the back then,” Dean said, and helped Sam lift another Romulan, “Kevin, go tell Jim what’s happening.”

 

Jim held Spock in his arms, and was so intently focused on him, that he didn’t hear Kevin approach. His voice made him jump when he said, “He’ll be okay. It was just a high frequency. His hearing may be out for a bit though.”

“Alright,” Jim said, reluctantly tearing his eyes from Spock, “What about the Romulans?”

“Sam and Dean are making sure they’re getting tied up good,” Kevin said. Then, he looked at Cas sitting off to one side and said, “Excuse me.”

“Sure thing,” Jim said. He stroked Spock’s cheek gently and he stirred, making Jim go still, “Spock, sweetheart?” Then he remembered Spock probably wouldn’t be able to hear him, so he ran his fingers gently over his cheek again.

Spock opened his eyes, looking up at Jim, and said, “Jim?” Then, he winced as though speaking had hurt him.

“Are you alright?” Jim asked, worried. Spock’s face took on a puzzled expression and he looked at Jim’s mouth.

“It would appear I cannot hear anything,” he said. Jim nodded, so Spock continued, “I do not believe it is permanent…,” and Jim shook his head. In his mind, he felt Spock through their mind link, and he cursed himself for not having thought of it.

-T’hy’la.

-Spock?

-What happened to the Romulans?

-They’re taken care of. Alive and apprehended.

Jim could feel Spock’s ambivalence over their survival. No matter how much time passed, he would never fully forgive anyone who had taken a part in the destruction of his home planet, no matter how small the role.

-Is everyone alright?

Jim looked at Cas for a moment,

\- Everyone’s alive.

Spock relief flooded through the bond, colored with guilt, and Jim tried to push through feelings of understanding, of his own guilt, of comfort and love. He let them all flow through until only the love remained, being emitted and received by both of them. Letting their heads come together, Jim almost missed Spock’s smile, the small one he loved so much, but it wouldn’t have mattered, because the next moment he felt it on his lips.

Bringing his hand up, Jim caressed Spock’s face, ending with his ear. He ran his fingers over it gently, letting the soft skin slide underneath his fingertips, until he came to the point. When their lips parted, Jim turned Spock head so that he could kiss each one.

 

Kevin sat beside Cas, who had finally managed to open his eyes, but the pupils were constantly changing, and they didn’t focus in any one place. His eyes were open, but he couldn’t see. Clearing his throat, Kevin said, “You alright?”

“Where is Dean?” Cas asked, “Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine.”

“Good,” Cas said, “Humans are so fragile.” Castiel raised a hand and ran the tips of his fingers alongside his eye, “There are times when I wonder if I made the right decision, choosing to remain human. Had regained my powers, I could have helped stopped all this, could have protected Dean, and you, and Sam, time and again. Like this, I’m just weak. A burden.”

“That's not true. You're a better hunter everyday, and your knowledge is invaluable. Besides, if you were an angel right now, you wouldn’t have been able to stay with Dean at all. You would have been recalled to Heaven after Gabriel’s return like every other angel,” Kevin said, “Besides, I think Dean is happier with you this way.”

“Why is that?” Castiel asked.

“You’re safer, and just like how his safety is what’s most important to you, yours is what’s important to him,” Kevin said, “And, because you’re happier.”

Cas smiled, “Yes, I am happier now than I have ever been, in all of my thousands of years in existence. I would give up merely existing for millennia for one life with Dean any day.”


	6. The Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pure, shameless, completely necessary porn that hardly even relates to the rest of the story. Read it. Love it.
> 
> Warnings for sensory deprivation and sex. At the same time.
> 
> Comments and all that jazz.
> 
> :)

“What are you going to do with them?” Cas asked. It was later that night. He was lying on the bed he and Dean shared. Jim and Spock were sleeping in another room, Spock’s hearing making it difficult for him to have a conversation with anyone but Jim anyways. Kevin had disappeared suddenly, scaring Dean, who ran around frantically before finding him asleep on the floor in the library. He had carried the ever-thinning teen to his room. Sam had been sullen for the rest of the day, for understandable reasons, and had excused himself before anyone else. With nothing left to do, he and Dean had gone to their own room and laid down.

“They’re secured good, Spock made sure of it,” Dean said, “It’s going to take Spock awhile to figure out how get back to their time, so we’ll just have to wait until then.”

“Gabriel could-”

“We can’t rely on Gabriel,” Dean said harshly, “He made that plenty clear today.”

“Dean, you should not condemn him before you hear his side of the story.”

“You saw Sammy, Cas,” Dean said, “I’ll condemn him all I want for hurting him again.”

Cas sighed and rolled onto his side, reaching blindly for Dean, who took his hand. After holding it for a moment, he raised it to his lips and kissed it. Castiel shuddered, and Dean chuckled. Next thing he knew, Cas was on his back once again, Dean straddling him. His hands were under Cas’s shirt, running over his stomach, then squeezing his nipple. He moaned loudly. These were all things Dean had done before, but this time, the feelings he was eliciting were intensified.

When Dean pulled his shirt up and latched his mouth onto one of his now hard nipples, Cas moaned again and bucked, rubbing his already erect member against Dean’s leg. Dean let go, and Cas could feel his hot, quick breath on his stomach, making goose bumps pebble his skin. With a whine, Cas said, “Dean…”

“Patience,” Dean said.

“Screw virtues, Dean,” Cas growled, “Screw me now.” With a groan, Dean got off the bed. Cas went completely still, afraid something was wrong, “Dean?”

Then Dean was back, and Cas reached out for him, and everywhere he touched was skin. Cas pulled off his own clothes with Dean's help, then he reached down and grabbed Dean, making him groan again, and stroked him until he was completely hard. Letting him go, he reached under his pillow and grabbed the bottle of lube they kept there. Under Dean’s they kept the pistol, but the only pistol he cared about right now was the one between Dean’s legs.

He pressed the lube into Dean’s hand, and felt him hesitate, “Are you sure?” Dean asked.

Cas reached down between his own legs and started to stroke himself, “I’m getting off one way or another tonight. I’d prefer it be with you.”

The next moment, he felt two slick fingers breech him at the same time Dean’s teeth sunk into his neck. Moaning, Cas pumped himself harder, just to have Dean’s hand bat his away. He made a frustrated noise, but then Dean added another finger. When he decided he was ready and that Dean was taking way too damn long, Cas reached up and found Dean’s nipple, twisting it hard. He felt Dean twitch against his leg.

“Pushy tonight,” Dean murmured, lining himself up.

“We should do this more oft-” He was interrupted by a groan. It took him a moment to realize was his own.

“Do what?” Dean asked when he was fully inside.

“Blind sex,” Cas said, “It’s amazing.”

Dean leaned down and kissed him hard, “I’d much rather see you, sweetheart. Nothing is more amazing than that.” Dean kissed his nose, cheeks, eyes, forehead, “You’re so beautiful.”

“Show me how beautiful I am?” Cas said, moving his hips.

Dean made a sound between a chuckle and a moan, “My pleasure.” He set a fast pace, moving in and out in quick, deep jabs. It wasn’t long before Cas was writhing, holding onto Dean’s biceps with an iron grip, neither of them noticing when his nails dug into Dean’s skin. Their breathing was erratic, and Dean let go of one of his hips. He dragged his palm through the sheen of sweat covering Cas’s chest and stomach, then took him in hand and pumped him until he came.

Cas tighten, and he could feel Dean slow inside of him, his next few thrusts only burying him deeper, until there was a heat exploding deep within him. Dean groaned and fell beside Cas. They breathed heavily for a minute before Cas chuckled, his happiness gushing out of him, “Most amazing sex ever. We should do that again.”

“I think you’ve developed your first kink,” Dean chuckled, but then he turned serious, “Still, I’d rather you get better and we can just use a blindfold next time. I hate that you’re hurt.”

There was a long pause before Cas said, “So there’ll be a next time?”


	7. The Door

Sam couldn’t sleep. He was lying awake in bed, and that’s why he heard the sound of feathers. Forcing himself not to move, he waited.

“Sammy?” Gabriel said, kneeling beside the bed.

Sam opened his eyes, ready to release his anger all at once, but instead his heart clenched. Gabriel looked stricken, his eyes filled with tears, and he was pale and shaking. Bolting up, Sam reached for him, but Gabriel pulled away, hanging his head and hiding his face in shame. Sam swallowed, “Gabe?” He said, “What happened?”

“I’m so sorry, Sam,” Gabriel said.

“For…” Sam had barely gotten the word out of his mouth when Gabriel cut him off.

“For disappearing,” he said, “I’m so sorry. I let you down. I’m just so relieved you’re alright.”

“Gabe,” Sam said forcefully, grabbing him and pulling him to his chest, “I survived without you for years, I think I can handle a few hours.”

Gabriel sniffled, “Is that supposed to make me feel better? You look awful.”

“So do you,” Sam said, “What happened, babe? Tell me.”  
“Heaven summoned me,” Gabriel said into his neck, “There was nothing I could do. They forced me up, and I couldn’t leave until everything was settled again. I tried to get everything done as fast as I could Sammy, please believe that…”

“I do,” Sam said. Gabriel seemed to slump against him with that, “It’s okay, Gabe. I just wish you would have mentioned that might happen ahead of time.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “There’s nothing else, no other surprises, I promise.”

“Really? You didn’t bring me a surprise ‘sorryIdisappearedinthemiddleofacrisis’ present?” Sam chuckled.

Gabriel looked up into his eyes, “You’re amazing, you know that, right? I love you so much.”

Sam grinned down at him, “Wow… that’s probably one of the best presents you’ve ever given me. Thanks Gabe. I love it, and you, too.”

 

The next morning, it took Sam awhile to explain everything to Dean and convince him not to kill Gabriel before they could all finally sit down for breakfast together. Gabriel healed Spock and Cas first thing, then summoned up breakfast for all of them, even managing to get Spock’s request of a traditional Vulcan meal right.

“When you’re ready, I can send all of you back to your own time,” Gabriel said.

“Thanks,” Jim said, “It’s a shame we can’t stay longer, but we need to get back. I’ll miss seeing you guys though.”

“Yeah,” Dean said, “You’re a great guy, Jim. I owe you a lot. Thanks.” They shared a conspiratorial look no one else could figure out.

“No problem,” Jim grinned.

“Well, you know,” Gabriel said, “If you want, I could make you a door.”

“A door?” Jim said.

“Yeah, a doorway between here and your ship, so you guys could swing by for visits without me having to be directly involved each time.”

“You could do that?” Jim asked.

“Jim, I do not know if that would be wise,” Spock said, “Imagine if another crewmember were to discover it.”

“So, I’ll give you keys, that way you can lock it,” Gabriel said, "Easy."

Jim raised an eyebrow at Spock, and when he didn’t raise any other objections, Jim said, “Alright, let’s do it.”

 

The door looked like any other door in the bunker, except that it had the Star Fleet logo on it. Gabriel grinned at all of them, “Your side matches the other doors on the ship, and has the Men of Letters symbol on it.”

“Cool,” Jim said.

“Here’s the keys,” Gabriel handed one to each of them. The ones Kevin, Dean, Cas, and Sam received looked like the kind you could get in any hardware store, while Jim and Spock got ones that looked like credit cards.

“Stop by whenever you want,” Dean said.

“You too,” Jim said, “You know where the bridge and Med Bay are. Come find me, Bones, or Spock.”

“Sure thing.”

Spock grabbed the nearest Romulan and manhandled him towards the door. The three of them were chained together and blindfolded, the other two stumbling along behind the first. With his hand on the door knob, Spock turned and said, “The ships, what will you do with them?”

“Don’t worry, you’re not going to get back to your time and find out everything is different because humans discovered warping capabilities in 2013,” Sam said.

“I’ve got them tucked away somewhere safe,” Gabriel said, grinning.

“Right, let’s get going then,” Jim said. They opened the door and Spock pushed the Romulans through. He turned and gave them the Vulcan salute before following. Jim smiled and winked at them, “Till next time.”


End file.
